


Tales of Unhappy Adventures

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Tumblr prompt fics [36]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: (mentioned only) - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt Elyan (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Period-Typical Racism, Protective Lancelot (Merlin)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27711347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Elyan barges into Lancelot's room one night, scared by something, and is comforted by his friend
Relationships: Elyan & Lancelot (Merlin)
Series: Tumblr prompt fics [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922554
Kudos: 17





	Tales of Unhappy Adventures

Elyan's adventures hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows, though most people were under that impression since the fun tales of adventure were the ones he liked to tell. No one had the full story, not even Gwen, though between her, the knights, and Merlin, they could have pieced together most of it if they wanted. They didn't, of course, except when it was necessary, choosing to respect his privacy and let him decide what to tell them. And trusted him to come to them if he needed help with any of it. 

Today seemed to be one of those days. Lancelot was reading in bed, a small pamphlet meant for the young sons of noblemen who were first learning to read since as a peasant, he'd never been taught how before, which he quickly hid under a pillow in embarrassment when the door abruptly opened with no knock. Elyan, however, didn't care what Lancelot was struggling to read; there were obviously bigger things on his mind as he burst into the room and slammed the door behind him, leaning his body weight against it as if he expected something or someone to try to break the door down. Had something been chasing him? An enemy within Camelot, of either the human or non-human variety, was hardly unlikely, but Lancelot thought he would have heard more commotion if they were under attack.

“What’s happened?” He asked, getting to his feet. Elyan jumped at the sound of his voice, and flinched away from Lance when he reached out towards him. The knight looked harried, just shy of frenzied. Something had clearly scared him, and since he wasn't a man prone to panic, it was likely serious.

"I- I'm sorry," he stuttered. "I didn't mean to disturb you. This was just the closest room, and I- I had to get out of there before he saw me-"

"Before who saw you?" Lancelot asked. He took his room key from his pocket and locked the door, so whoever it was Elyan was scared of couldn't get in. His friend seemed relieved by that, turning to lean his back against the door, eyes pressed closed.

"Meric. He's… I met him traveling a few years ago. He was a mercenary but he must've been hired to be a guard of one of the nobles that's currently visiting, because I just saw him and…"

"You're not happy he's here," Lancelot surmised. "Do you want to tell me what happened between you?"

"No," Elyan said with a little whimper as he pulled his arms up to hug himself, trying to calm the panic building in his system. "It was bad though. I don't know if he would try it again now that I'm a knight, but I don't want to see him again. Just the memory of it is bad enough."

"Is he a threat to Camelot, or just to you?"

"I don't think he's after Arthur or the kingdom. But someone should guard Gwen. Even if he doesn't find out that she's my sister, he might attack her."

Lancelot had a bad feeling he knew what had happened with Meric before, or at least what had motivated it. He found it beyond despicable that anyone would judge another person just for the color of their skin, much less hurt them for it. The thought of Elyan and Gwen, two of the kindest and most compassionate people he had ever met, being subjected to such hatred sickened him.

"I'll make sure she's well guarded and aware of the danger by the time she and Arthur hold audiences tomorrow," he reassured his friend. It was evening currently, late enough that the king and queen would be having dinner privately and wouldn't be out in public until the morning. Lance was glad that he wouldn't have to rush off to advise them of the possible danger now, because he didn't want to leave Elyan like this. The knight was crying now, a few tears slipping down his cheeks despite how tightly his eyes were pressed shut trying to hold them in. "Do you need anything? A hug maybe?" Lancelot asked gently. In response, the shorter man just stepped forward and folded himself into his arms, his shoulders heaving with silent sobs. He was a little stunned by his reaction for half a second before he wrapped him in a tight embrace. "It's okay, Elyan, it's just me…" He soothed, rubbing his back. "You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you. You're a knight of Camelot now, and your brothers aren't going to let that happen." When the man began to sag against him, exhausted by the tears and the fear, he walked them over to the bed. Elyan curled up tightly, hands fisted into his friend's shirt. Lancelot had to carefully but firmly peel his fingers back to get him to let go. "I'm just getting up for a minute to send a page down to the kitchens to bring us some dinner. I'll be back in just a minute." He was true to his word, leaving the room just for long enough to flag down a servant and confirm they weren't busy before politely asking for them to fetch a couple plates of food. Usually he didn't like to demand things from servants, since he knew their jobs were already hard enough, but tonight he wanted to make sure Elyan was fed and that he didn't have to go out himself and risk being seen by Meric. He did plan to tip the maid a few coins when she returned: enough that she could buy herself a nice meal if she wanted.

Elyan was asleep when he returned to the room, but it didn't seem peaceful. He was tossing and turning, possibly in the throes of a nightmare. It calmed a little when Lancelot wrapped his arms back around him, pulling him close and resuming his whispered reassurances. Even in unconsciousness, the knight trusted his friend to take care of him.  



End file.
